The Keepers - SP - Brandon Moore

SP Brandon Moore 


 In 2008, Moore pitched for both Kingsport (2-0, 0.90, 1.00, in six games, two starts, 22-K in 20.0-IP) and Brooklyn (3-1, 9.00, 2.14 in 8 relief appearances). He returned to Brooklyn for a complete season in 2009 and did good: 6-3, 2.09, 0.95, in 13 starts, 2-CG, 2-SH, 71-K, 17-BB, 82.0-IP. Moore’s combined two-year stats are: 11-4, 2.31, 1.04. 1-1-2010 Forecast: No one expected this much from Moore, so this is all bonus time. Frankly, he’s had one of the better first two years any Mets SP has had in the past ten years. I expect him to bypass Savannah and go straight to Lucy in the spring. 


 4-14-10: - Moore pitched a “perfect” first outing, giving up nothing and ending with an organizational leading 0.00 WHIP. I asked him “you're the organizational leader in lowest WHIP (0.00)... after the first week... know it's early, and you're not going to deal up any secrets here, but what's working well for you right now?”Moore answered: “I’m just getting on the mound and pitching the way i always have. I have the mind set no one can beat me. My thing is I dont care who is at the plate. I know i can get them out.” Boy, we could use a little of this thinking in Queens right now. 


6-27-10: - Moore had his first A+ outing and faired a lot better than his buddy Cohoon… 6.0-IP, 2-ER, 6-K, 3-BB, 3.00 ERA… and the win 


 7-10-10: - As we all know, Moore has had a wonderful career so far as a Mets. This year, he pitched excellently at Savannah (2.49, 0.9i in 14-G) and has been making the adjustment at the A+ level with St. Lucie. Friday night was a good outing: 6.0-IP, 1-ER, 4-Ks. He did give up four walks, but, for the season, he's 1-1, 2.65, .141 for Lucy. We're all still waiting for Moore to show some cracks... he's 15-9 as a Met... but so far, he easily has cracked the Mets top 25 prospect list. 7-16-10: - Moore pitched five more excellent innings last night, giving up 0--ER, striking out eight, and walking only once. 12 of his outs were flyouts. Moore seems to have made the conversion to A+ with ease, with four game stats of: 2-1, 1.80, 1.20 in 25.0-IP. I think it is obvious that the Mets will keep moving him on (24-yrs old) and I expect him to be in the Binghamton rotation next spring. 


8-1-10: -Moore seems to be the one Savannah graduate this season that is settling nicely into the A+ St. Lucie rotation. Last night, he went 5.1-IP against Lakeland, giving up only one earned run. Season stats at Lucy: 7-G, 2-3, 2.61, 1.35. We’ve learned in the past not to get too excited about pitchers below the AA level, but Moore is definitely on our watch list. One caveat… he is playing A+ at 24-years old, which might be one of the reasons he’s doing well at that level. 


 8-19-10: - First, let’s talk about Brandon Moore. This is a kid that has done very little wrong so far in his professional career. I tend not to judge minor league pitchers on their win-loss record, because, in many cases, their best outing was cut short due to pitch count. ERA is okay, but WHIP and K/IP are much better. Moore was a 14th rounder in 2008 and has been successful at four levels in three years. His combined WHIP in 2008/2009, for 27-G, 15-starts, for Kingsport and Brooklyn, was 1.04. He also had 104-K in 109.0-IP. He started this season (14-G, 12-St) for Savannah and posted a 0.92 WHIP and 98-K in 79-2-IP… currently, he’s pitching for St. Lucie and has put up a 1.43 WHIP, 49-K in 56.0-IP in 10 starts. Every pitcher goes through at least one level hiccup and if a 1.43 WHIP is his, all is fine with the world. Wednesday night, Moore got back on the horse, tossing 6.0-IP, 2-H, 1-ER, 9-K, and 3-BB. Okay, here’s the rub. There is considerable chatter on the net about his lack of speed. I’ve watched the kid pitch and read a numerous amount of people that have seen him pitch and I estimate his fastball is sitting around 88-89, with a top speed of 92. Is this good enough to make a major league rotation? That’s not the problem. The problem is a pitcher that only hits 92 are a dime a dozen, so you better have serios control on that pitch, coupled by nasty secondary stuff. We’ll keep an eye on his A+ WHIP as the season comes to an end. 


8-28-10: - Stock Up: Brandon Moore seems to be getting the knack of pitching at the A+ level. Too bad the season’s end is just around the corner. Moore pitched 6.0-IP last night, compiling only 1-ER, while striking out 10. His Lucy ERA is now 3.82, which when added to his 2.49 in Savannah earlier this year, totals out for a nice 3.08 in 26 games, 24 of which he started. I’ll stay conservative here and say that he will return to St. Lucie to start the 2011 season, but… ya never know 


7-25-11: - We haven’t talked much about Moore this season simply because he got off to a struggling start this season in AA. Last year he went 5-9, 3.56 for three levels and Binghamton would be the test all prospect pitchers have to master to someday be considered as a call-up. Last night, Moore tossed 6.0-IP, 0-R, 6-K, 0-BB, 2-H and lowered his season ERA to 3.73 in 19-starts. I expect Moore to finish the season with the B-Mets, but start 2012 with AAA-Buffalo. One note of caution: 5.35 ERA vs. lefties (2.69 vs. righties).


 9-16-11: - Twitter - MLB suspends #Mets Double-A pitcher Brandon Moore for 50 games for a "drug of abuse." It's his second violation.